2001 was one of the worst years I can remember. I had one of my earliest and most serious depressions, I got into a fight with someone very close to me, and I had the most awful time in a school trip. But when I saw “Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring” I felt like Frodo in front of Galadriel, and somehow her phrase "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future" made me realize that, yes, no matter how insignificant I felt, my life was still valuable. There is also a wonderful conversation between Frodo and Gandalf "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us". It might sound silly, but Lord of the Rings helped me a lot. It helped me to pass through a rough patch in my life and it also made me love fantasy as a genre and the Tolkien novels (which I read because of the movies). With that out of the way, I must say that although I enjoyed Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) I felt it didn’t quite click for me. Fellowship of the Ring is one of the best films I’ve seen in my life, and that’s why it’s included on my Top 100 list. The Hobbit is, barely, one of the good movies of the year. Still, I was so excited so see again the original cast: Sir Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Christopher Lee. And, of course, I’ll go see the other two Hobbit movies but I know they won’t be as good as the previous trilogy.Also on my top 100 is “Brick”, a 2005 film directed by Rian Johnson and starred by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 7 years later, the filmmaker works again with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper (2012). This is one of the best sci-fi productions I’ve seen in years, Johnson creates a fascinating future that seems awfully close to our present and writes a very original script involving murders and time travels, the cast includes Bruce Willis, Paul Dano and other famous actors. I highly recommend it. Fatal Attraction (1987) is one of those movies that everyone has seen… so sooner or later I had to see it. Michael Douglas is a loving husband and father till he meets Glenn Close, a psychopathic woman who seduces him. They have a short affair and the rest of the movie is seeing the protagonist dealing with the consequences of his infidelity, almost like a cautionary tale. Except, it has some really great scenes, plus Douglas and Close are so good when it comes to acting. On the horror front I saw The Messengers (2007), a movie about a house inhabited by the souls of a murdered family, when Kristen Stewart and her parents move in, they start experiencing strange things. It’s a bit conventional at moments, but it also has some sequences that actually frighten you, so that’s good. Chillerama (2011) is one of those crazy projects that I simply find delightful. Directors Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Bear McCreary, Adam Rifkin and Tim Sullivan tell several short stories that are parodies of B movies from the 50s or 60s. I laughed constantly as I saw these weird stories, and I was marveled to see that they are great imitating the special effects of the 50s. There is such a sense of ridicule and yet there is so much fun going on that it’s impossible to stop laughing throughout these segments, my favorite is probably Tim Sullivan’s “I Was A Teenage Werebear” starred by Sean Paul Lockhart (AKA Brent Corrigan, yes, the star of many adult films…), who does a great work as a high school student confused about his sexuality.

Just like last month, international productions take up more than half of my list so let’s start with Au revoir les enfants (1987), a fascinating chronicle about a group of boys in a boarding school that must deal with the typical growing pains as well as their preoccupation for the WWII. Louis Malle writes and directs a beautiful film that is a testimony of friendship and boyish innocence. Vito e gli altri (1991) is a peculiar Italian movie about a group of underage delinquents in the streets of Naples. It has some interesting ideas but I’m not entirely satisfied with the result. Twee vorstinnen en een vorst (1981), is one of the best coming of age films I’ve seen in years. Director Otto Jongerius introduces us to the world of a 13 year old who suddenly finds himself attracted to his aunt. His sexual awakening and the woman’s lascivious nature can produce only one result, and yet nothing is predictable about this production from the Netherlands. Really extraordinary. I’ve often talked about Marco Berger, I consider him one of the best Latin-American filmmakers and I admire the intensity of his work (which I have commented hereand here). In Tensión sexual volumen 1: Volátil (2012) he shares the spotlight with director Marcelo Mónaco, they both produce short films that revolve around sexual tension. This is the best example of erotic storytelling I can think of… there is so much strength in the proximity of sex and yet so much frustration as nothing comes to fruition. AIDS is a serious subject, but most movies seem to focus on the melodramatic aspect of the mortal disease, just like 19th century writers used to consider tuberculosis as a condition akin to romanticism. Torka Aldrig Tårar Utan Handskar (2012) certainly doesn’t make that mistake. This is, first and foremost, a love story. A love story between two young men who meet in Stockholm and share a few years together before one of them is diagnosed as HIV positive. The protagonists are two excellent European actors: Adam Pålsson and Adam Lundgren (famous for his role as a gay teenager in “Love”). This Sweden production touched me deeply, and it made me feel overwhelmed. Somehow, there is a balance here between love and beauty, and despair and death. It’s so captivating that its 3 hours fly by. Surely the best I’ve seen this month. Finally, from Germany comes Führer Ex (2002), a very strong tale of two young men who try to cross the Berlin wall only to get captured and sent to jail. As prisoners they have the most terrible experiences they could imagine, including being raped by other prisoners. But that’s nothing compared with the ideological poisoning one of them suffers in the hands of a neo-Nazi. Time’s but a veiled screen, whereon our silhouettes fatten then grow lean. Another year has come and gone in this hag-ridden land and that indubitably calls forth a proper measure of our cinematographic experiences. Now let us be about our grudging rounds. Speak not, oh reader, and listen well, for we have enough wit yet left to surprise thee. It is proposed we should find positions for all motion pictures presented in the course of 2012, and with an agile mind and knowledge both of directors and actors, we trust thou shalt count our judgment amongst the very best. Thus must we testify… sufficient in our intimate thoughts that these estimations spilled delinquent out of our mouths are indeed of the noblest disposition. Nominees: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)The Dark Knight Rises (2012)Looper (2012)The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)Skyfall (2012)To Rome with Love (2012)Prometheus (2012) The Avengers (2012)Dredd 3D (2012)Best of 2012:1 - THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER2 - THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 3 - LOOPER 4 - THE DARK KNIGHT RISES 5 - SKYFALL Top 1001.THE HOURS (2002) Stephen Daldry2.THE FOUNTAIN (2006) Darren Aronofsky3.STARDUST MEMORIES (1980) Woody Allen4.LE CHARME DISCRETE DE LA BOURGESIE (1972) Luis Buñuel5.LA CENA (1998) Ettore Scola6.Morte a Venezia (1971) Luchino Visconti7.Requiem for a Dream (2000) Darren Aronofsky8.Billy Elliot (2000) Stephen Daldry9.Fellini - Satyricon (1969) Federico Fellini10.Manhattan (1979) Woody Allen11.Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975) Pier Paolo Pasolini12.Todo sobre mi madre (1999) Pedro Almodóvar13.Lost in Translation (2003) Sofia Coppola 14.A Clockwork Orange (1971) Stanley Kubrick15.Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock16.The Sixth Sense (1999) M. Night Shyamalan17.Elephant (2003) Gus Van Sant 18.Abre Los Ojos (1997) Alejandro Amenábar19.The Great Dictator (1940) Charles Chaplin20.The Squid and the Whale (2005) Noah Baumbach21.Un Lugar en el Mundo (1992) Adolfo Aristarain 22.Amarcord (1973) Federico Fellini23.My Own Private Idaho (1991) Gus Van Sant24.Mysterious Skin (2004) Gregg Araki25.C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005) Jean-Marc Vallée26.Ladri di biciclette (1948) Vittorio De Sica27.Volver (2006) Pedro Almodóvar28.Match Point (2005) Woody Allen 29.Låt den rätte komma in (2008) Tomas Alfredson30.Igby Goes Down (2002) Burr Steers31.Little Miss Sunshine (2006) Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris32.Funny Games U.S. (2007) Michael Haneke 33.Unbreakable (2000) M. Night Shyamalan34.Hana-bi (1997) Takeshi Kitano35.La Pianiste (2001) Michael Haneke 36.The Remains of the Day (1993) James Ivory37.Colegas (1982) Eloy de la Iglesia 38.Broken Flowers (2005) Jim Jarmusch39.The Others (2001) Alejandro Amenábar40.Dogville (2003) Lars von Trier 41.The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) Woody Allen42.Les amours imaginaires (2010) Xavier Dolan 43.The Ice Storm (1997) Ang Lee44.Memento (2000) Christopher Nolan45.Amores Perros (2000) Alejandro González Iñárritu46.Twelve and Holding (2005) Michael Cuesta 47.Magnolia (1999) Paul Thomas Anderson48.Running with scissors (2006) Ryan Murphy 49.Wonder Boys (2000) Curtis Hanson50.The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Jonathan Demme51.Signs (2002) M. Night Shyamalan 52.Stay (2005) Marc Forster53.Sala samobójców (2011) Jan Komasa 54.Love Actually (2003) Richard Curtis55.Brick (2005) Rian Johnson56.Dans Tom Sommeil (2010) Caroline du Potet, Éric du Potet57.The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) Wes Anderson58.The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) Stephen Chbosky59.Burn after reading (2008) Ethan Coen & Joel Coen60.Sommersturm (2004) Marco Kreuzpaintner61.Paris je t’aime (2006) Gus van Sant, Alexander Payne et al. 62.La Stanza del Figlio (2001) Nanni Moretti63.Kill Bill vol. 1 (2003) Quentin Tarantino64.Kill Bill vol. 2 (2004) Quentin Tarantino65.Far From Heaven (2002) Todd Haynes66.Snowtown (2009) Justin Kursel 67.Small time crooks (2000) Woody Allen68.Otto; or, Up with Dead People (2008) Bruce La Bruce69.A Single Man (2009) Tom Ford70.J’ai tué ma mere (2008) Xavier Dolan71.Mystic River (2003) Clint Eastwood72.Total Eclipse (1995) Agnieszka Holland73.The Godfather (1972) Francis Ford Coppola74.Días de Santiago (2004) Josué Méndez75.Goodbye Lenin (2003) Wolfgang Becker76.Catch me if you can (2002) Steven Spielberg 77.Donnie Darko (2001) Richard Kelly78.Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Michel Gondry79.Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) John Cameron Mitchell80.Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) James Cameron81.Alien (1979) Ridley Scott82.Apt Pupil (1998) Bryan Singer83.Children of Men (2006) Alfonso Cuarón84.Klass (2007) Ilmar Raag 85.Diary of the Dead (2007) George A. Romero 86.The Good Life (2007) Stephen Berra87.Léon (1994) Luc Besson88.28 Days Later (2002) Danny Boyle89.The Fifth Element (1997) Luc Besson90.Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero91.The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) Anthony Minghella92.Den osynlige (2002) Bergvall & Sandquist.93.The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Peter Jackson94.The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Peter Jackson 95.Titanic (1997) James Cameron96.The Dreamers (2003) Bernardo Bertolucci97.The Dark Knight (2008) Christopher Nolan98.Mars Attacks (1996) Tim Burton99.The Last Action Hero (1993) John McTiernan100.The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Jim Sharman____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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About the Author - Arion

Arion, who is either from Chile or New York (it’s not really clear) writes a blog that the Outhouse steals on a regular basis. Arion is by far the nicest of all the staff writers and the most well behaved only having been banned from one country. One thing we really appreciate about Aroin is that he writes his reviews in English and Spanish and we hope someday he’ll translate this blurb for us. We’re not so good at languages, just look at how well we write in English if you need proof. You should bookmark Arion’s blog - http://artbyarion.blogspot.com – and actually look at it. There will be a quiz at the end of every month.